Finished my degree some months back and about a month ago got a job using it. Pretty good pay, benefits, stability, etc. Needless to say I am pleased and puts me on a confident trajectory towards better things even if it does suck away a lot of free time from my life but that too can improve with time as I move to more convenient locations.

Feels a bit weird for there to be back to back death journals but I was never one to do journals that much so here we are.

 Kentam has been a friend of mine for a long time, well over a decade by my best guess. I knew him online before he came to Vancouver and was lucky enough to show him around the area a bit and share a bit of what I loved about this city with him. Likewise he shared his time, with which he was unfailingly generous with, with me. Countless visits to White Spot and even more D&D sessions with some other friends were the bulk of out interactions and they're memories I recall fondly. While more recent years have seen these be more rare as I was socializing less and dealing with things in my own life I certainly wanted these encounters to resume once things were more settled. In this respect Mike and I were similar, both having encountered some troubles and trying to put our lives back together and to my understanding both having some success in that.

I'd hoped within the next year or two that my side of things would settle enough to give me the bandwidth to hang out with him more and perhaps even resume regular D&D sessions, or perhaps just Stellaris sessions which he loved.

I won't be able to do that now or participate in the many more incidental interactions online, leaning a big striped head in as he scritches a chin or some such. I'm going to miss him terribly, I'm just glad for the time I did have with him.

Some more tiger news but here the bad news covers a wonderful truth.

Machli, the 'Queen of Ranthambor' died at 20 years of age, a natural death and one where they were able to take out and ( presumably ) bury the body. 20 years is a long full life for a tiger and that she died naturally and not to a poachers bullet is a great victory and a sign of hope that we're making progress towards a day where the vast majority of tigers die natural deaths at the end of long lives.

Link to article

In sharing this news I'm invariably reminded of the death of another long lived tigress, that ended differently and tragically for all involved. Olga was a Siberian Tigress, the first one collared for the Siberian Tiger Project and was at the time the longest continuously studied tiger. In 2005 at 14 years of age she was shot, poached, after so long beating the odds that see most tigers dead by the age of 7.

Link to article

Finally to avoid painting too bleak a picture there's the relatively recent news of wild tiger numbers being on the rise, perhaps. It should be cautious optimism at this point and not full on celebration as differing ways of counting tigers ( we've gotten better at this thanks to camera traps and experience ) have likely lead to this rise. Regardless the fact that numbers aren't declining enough to surpass measurement error on previous counts itself is mildly good news and points to a likely stabilizing of the population.

Link to article

Imgur picture

As some may have heard already the 'Tiger Temple' in Thailand has been found to be up to some pretty terrible things. If you were planning on going there, don't, book a trip to Ranthambore instead.

So I'm not usually the sort to pass on stuff like this, but given that some of my commissioned art is in it seems more likely that it will be at least in part relevant to watcher interest.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16200729/ For glorious hi-rez viewings of the back of my maw! ( among many many other things )

I'm a prolific roleplayer, primarily http://www.rp-portal.com/ but I also visit https://www.f-list.net/fchat/ from time to time, in both places as Sikhoten_Tiger

Sometimes good things seem to just happen without having a particular trigger or reason more of it being about time and the people involved having gotten over their various misgivings and doubts to go out and do something about it. This is roughly how I feel about the Occupy Wallstreet protests now, early on it simply offered a possibility without truly leaving me feeling that something might just arise from this, I wanted it to but I wouldn't be disappointed or surprised if it didn't. I do now. Over the last few days two things have happened, one is the NYPD, on behalf of the established powers that be threatened to essentially end the protests and failed. The other is I saw this: http://blogs.forward.com/forward-thinking/144122/

To me this was an immensely powerful statement on how this movement is bringing people together, allowing them to express their differing beliefs while still under the same banner demanding a return to democracy and an exit of the influence of corporate America from the politics of the nation.

I've seen a range of comments from those criticizing the movement for being too lazy to get a job, work hard, etc while I'm certain that may be true for some I also see that this group is the least lazy in the political sphere compared to the plethora of others that know something is wrong with America but are unable or unwilling to articulate and do something about it.

On a more personal level I'm also glad that this was started in some manner in Vancouver, where I live, makes me proud to know that we have people that are that politically motivated and active in the country even if those in the states have taken this core message and idea and run far with it. Also I was impressed to meet another furry cyclist out there who's putting on some decent milage ( 20 miles ) which in turn inspired me to push a bit further on my own bike ride and manage 34~35km.

This is perhaps part of the reason why Occupy Wallstreet has me hoping a bit more then usual, if one group manages to accomplish meaningful progress in trying to fix things there it could inspire even more change and shockingly it might even be peaceful. I can't say enough good about those who are down there, the determined peaceful protest there, the apparently happy mood is all incredibly inspiring, good luck and god speed.

So I went camping with some furs and it was quite awesome, lots of swimming and hiking and even some running to be had, also plenty of socializing and such and some relaxing book-reading. This led to a few conclusions:

1. I really need to do this more often
2. In the years since I've last swum I haven't quite become a floater in spite of some non-muscle pounds
3. My legs are in better shape then I thought cardio really really is the problem, fucking asthma
4. Felines love camping 4/13 people there were cats of some sort, it was either a chance fluke or... something, I don't know
5. People are cool, especially when put in the right context while this was a smaller sampling then I might have liked it's a good indication for cons and the like

So recently (about two weeks back) I moved out, again and I'm thinking that this time it will stick, lacking some of the issues with past roomies as well as being in a really nice place close ( 15-20 mins walking ) to work with trees outside my window... big ones that are taller then our 3rd story apartment, it's kinda pwnsome. This also means I'll be more up for doing stuff then when I was 1-1.5 hours of bussing away from everyone, should be good/fun.

If you're reading this now you should stop unless you've read Plan B by Lester R. Brown in one of it's various versions because it is without a doubt the most important thing you could be reading right now. I just finished reading version 2.0 and was reminded and reinvigorated in needing to inform people, I just bought several copies of the latest version for myself and whomever else is willing to read it. I cant tell you just how important it is that you read this book, this is more important then furries being accepted, gays being allowed to merry and whatever other pet concern you might have combined. This is about nothing less then the future of our civilization and our planet and choosing between a future of scarcity and destruction and one that can continue to grow economically, sustain itself ecologically and for us, preserve the animals that we hold so dear.

If there's anyone reading this that can't afford/wouldn't bother to read this book unless it's sent to them e-mail me at Amur_Tiger[at]msn.com and I'll see about getting a copy to you so long as I can afford it.

For everyone else please pick this up, it's not that expensive and I hope it will help you realize that the only barrier to fixing the course of our planet is politics, which we have to change.

http://www.amazon.com/Plan-4-0-Mobi...../dp/0393071030

How to play:
- Write yes or no and an explanation under each achievement [if you want]. Try to keep the format, and use your own judgement!
- Add up your score.
- Post your score total with the journal's subject. (ie., "Furry Achievement Score: X")

"Waited In Line For Blotch Porn"
Parameters: Go/went to a furry convention.
Score: 0/50
Completed?: No

"Rug Burn"
Parameters: Do/did the business, with one or more partners in a fursuit.
Score: 0/50
Completed?: No O.o

"It's Like A Miniature Convention!"
Parameters: Go/went to a furmeet.
Score: 30/30
Completed?: Yus

"FURtune 500"
Parameters: Have over 10,000 views.
Score: 30/30
Completed?: On my Eka's portal profile o.o

"High Roller"
Parameters: Have your character drawn by an artist that has over 100,000 views.
Score: 30/30
Completed?: Nimrais is awsome :)

"Friends In High Places"
Parameters: Have gift art of your character from an artist.
Score: 20/20
Completed?: Raith, Raven and perhaps other R-themed artists

"Different Strokes"
Parameters: Own/owned/used an animal-molded, or furry-oriented, sexual toy.
Score: 0/20
Completed?: No

"So, Yeah"
Parameters: Have more furry friends than non-furry friends in real life.
Score: 20/20
Completed?: Indeed so

"Stalker"
Parameters: Be friends with an artist.
Score: 20/20
Completed?: A few yeah!

"Connected"
Parameters: Have a total combined buddy count [on AIM, MSN, Skype or etc.] of 200 or more.
Score: 20/20
Completed?: 240ish

"Just For The Art"
Parameters: Draw anthropomorphic art.
Score: 0/20
Completed?:

"Dramatic"
Parameters: Have a LiveJournal, Facebook, FurAffinity, DeviantArt, and a Twitter account.
Score: 0/20
Completed?: NoN!

"Get Over It"
Parameters: Have/had a spouse/partner/significant other/mate/whatever, in real life, that is a furry.
Score: 0/20
Completed?: no

"Vanilla"
Parameters: Have nonsexual art of your character.
Score: 10/10
Completed?: Yes

"O MURR"
Parameters: Use/used the word 'yiff', 'scritch', or 'paw' when talking to a non-furry friend in real life.
Score: 0/10
Completed?: I don't think so

"And All I Got..."
Parameters: Own a distinctly 'furry' t-shirt [something made by furries and/or for furries].
Score: 0/10
Completed?: Nope normal clothes

"I'm Not Even Trying"
Parameters: Have some form of furry porn on your desktop [whether as wallpaper or a file].
Score: 0/10
Completed?: Nay

"UNLESS IT'S A FARM!"
Parameters: Play/played Team Fortress 2 on a furry server.
Score: 0/10
Completed?: nope

"Such A Cock"
Parameters: Listen/listened to a 2 the Ranting Gryphon rant.
Score: 10/10
Completed?: ja

"Friends With Benefits"
Parameters: Commissioned/commission artwork of a friend's character.
Score: 5/10
Completed?: sorta? first commission was of Bitsa and a friend

"Anti-Uppity"
Parameters: Have sexual artwork of your character.
Score: 10/10
Completed?: Yes, pre-vore and tongues between thighs is sexual

"Don't Knock It 'Til You Try It"
Parameters: Roleplay/roleplayed your character over a messenger service/in a game of some sort.
Score: 10/5 for having done it at all, +5 for having done sexual roleplay.
Completed?: I should really get a 15 or 20 here

"NO FRATERNIZING WITH THE ENEMY!"
Parameters: Post/posted on 4chan or SomethingAwful.com
Score: 0/5
Completed?: No

"Furries Ruin Everything"
Parameters: Post/posted a furry image on 4chan.
Score: 0/5
Completed?: Nah

"You're Doing It Wrong"
Parameters: Post/posted on fchan or TGFB (http://dammitfreehaven.com/).
Score: 0/5
Completed?: No

"The Greater Good"
Parameters: Post/posted an image on e621.net.
Score: 0/5
Completed?: Nope

"O.. murr"
Parameters: Use/used the word 'yiff', 'scritch', or 'paw' when talking to a furry friend in real life.
Score: 5/5
Completed?: Inevitably

"How Did That Get There?"
Parameters: Have a folder dedicated to furry porn.
Score: 10/5 for having a folder, +5 for having a folder of 1gb or larger.
Completed?: Kyt dosen't have a thorough enough appreciation of mawshots to get up to 1 GB :3 Essentially pr0n for me though

"THIS IS THE REAL ME! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"
Parameters: Commission art of your character.
Score: 5/5
Completed?: Yes

"SRS BSNS"
Parameters: Tell/told a parent/friend that you are a furry.
Score: 0/5
Completed?: Nope

"Ding, DONG"
Parameters: Have a male character.
Score: 5/5
Completed?: 4 that I can think of?

"Tits or GTFO"
Parameters: Have a female character.
Score: 5/5
Completed?: 2 or 3 properly developed but a number of others less developed ones

"It's A Trap!"
Parameters: Have a herm/shemale/transgendered/etc. character.
Score: 0/5
Completed?: No, if you think you need more then one set then you don't know how to use the set you've got

"Dime A Dozen"
Parameters: Did/do another furry meme.
Score: 0/5
Completed?: No

"You're It!"
Parameters: Tag at least 1 person after doing this meme.
Score: 0/5
Completed?: I never spread memes

End score? 245 I think

Now to those that want to critique this harshly and such I should remind you that there's a reason it's in the journal section and not the submissions! I was amused when I made it though. Oh and this is supposed to be sung to Bare Naked Ladies 'Alcohol'

Bicycling, my way to get from A to B
Bicycling, in rain or shine or snow or sleet
Bicycling, alternative to killing all the trees
O Bicycling, Your just what we all need

I make lots more, then I did the week before
I discovered Bicycling

Forget the car or truck, screw the sports utility
A Rocky Mountain for you, and a Kona for me
Alcohol, Your wheels revolve like
my life sometimes wills
When you never have to grind up that hill

I am much more, fit then before
I discovered Bicycling
O Bicycling, where you been all my life
While wasted gas myself
I'll use something else

Calories! :D

I thought that Bicycling was just for those crazy folks or those on weed
I thought that Bicycling just for fun
was a waste of precious time
But now I know that there is time
between the traffic and latte
to bike on by those sorry schmucks
in SUVs and their sports cars


I lost much more (weight) than I did the week before
I discovered Bicycling
Would you please ignore that you
found me on the floor
limp as hell and hurting
O Bicycling, would you please forgive me?
For for not having strong quads
I'll use something else.

Would you please forgive me (x2)

So as a biker I really should hate the snow, like lots. It's cold, slick, tough to bike through and often wet. Most bikers, at least the sane ones, pack it in at the sign of snow if they have a choice. However, I didn't have a choice. at 1:30 am I was in Vancouver at the foot of the Granville street bridge 15 odd kilometers away from my home, south-east and up in elevation. Now in defense of my sanity it didn't start as snow, indeed it was only a crusty/slushy bit that only stuck to some wood steps where I work, but that was only a hint of what was to come. Before long I'd be leaving a thin single trail through a thin layer of snow that covered the streets. To be fair, it wasn't deep at all which is part of why it was indeed possible, but that doesn't make it any less slick and as I got higher in altitude it became more and more clear that this would be something to worry about, especially near the end where it was cold enough that car tracks across the snow would merely pack it down hard instead of obliterating it, thus making it quite slick in those areas. Now along the trip there are a few downhills as well, this worried me somewhat since I knew I'd want to go fast, but should I given the conditions? Hell yeah! :D Topping out road bike gears on snow FTW. Yes it was scary as hell, but I know what I'm doing and didn't fall, thus awesome. Another cool thing about all this of course was the not being cool part, indeed there came a point where I was hot enough to unzip my top layers halfway down and I still came home well heated and sweaty ( yet in a good way somehow ) and with the strange exception of my right arm, not sore or super-tired, indeed I think I arrived home less tired then I left work. O.o

Anyways, yes I'm insane, but hey it's a living and a damn fine one at that. I managed to make some of the toughest biking conditions into one of the most enjoyable rides home I've had and that can't be a bad thing.

Amur_Tiger